Committee of 100 dinner

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Zoe Krawietz watches as her father, Col Anthony B. Krawietz, 97 Air Mobility Wing commander, touches one of the rattlesnakes on display at the Committee of 100 dinner March 12, 2012. The Committee of 100 is an Altus organization that has been hosting events for Airmen new to Altus, those returning from a deployment and students assigned to Altus AFB for training since 1984. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Myles T. Stepp / 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs / Released)

Committee of 100 dinner

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Gabrielle Medina stands still as Fangmaster Keith Kendall drapes a rattlesnake around her neck at the Committee of 100 dinner March 12, 2012, while her mother, Major Olga Acosta, 97th Comptroller Squadron commander, prepares to take her picture. The Committee of 100 is an Altus organization that has been hosting events for Airmen new to Altus, those returning from a deployment and students assigned to Altus AFB for training since 1984. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Myles T. Stepp / 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs / Released)

Snakes are the order of the day at Committee of 100 event

Published March 14, 2012
By Alicia Ballor
97 AMW/PA

03/12/2012 -- ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - Every quarter, Airmen new to the Altus area, Airmen who have returned from a deployment, or students assigned to Altus AFB for training, are invited to a free dinner sponsored by the Committee of 100.

The event March 12, was a free barbecue dinner with entertainment provided by the Fangmaster of the Mangum Rattlesnake Derby, which is scheduled for the weekend of April 27-28.

Cameras captured the event and the rattlesnakes made themselves known with the sounds of their shaking tails. Some people dared to pose for pictures with the snakes wrapped around their shoulders while others snapped pictures from a distance.

"I've never been to an event like last night," said Airman 1st Class Jonathan McKnight, 97th Medical Support Squadron. McKnight moved to Altus in January with his wife and three children and all attended the dinner. "Our kids really liked it and that's our major thing," he said. McKnight enlisted Aug. 2011, and Altus is his first assignment. "Altus is a small base, but this is one of those things where you can get out there (and get involved) and this dinner helped my family do that."

The Committee of 100 is an organization that has hosted dinners and events like this since for Altus Airmen 1984.

"You can travel the world just by sitting and talking to everybody," said Eva Letha Lucas, chairman since 2003. "It's a great way to get the base and community together."

Other spectators included squadron commanders, group commanders and other base senior leadership.

"The local community outdoes themselves every time," said Maj. Olga Acosta, 97th Comptroller Squadron commander. "It's a great way to show our Airmen how much our community cares about us and these events also gives us an opportunity to see what the community has to offer."

For more information about the Committee of 100, call Public Affairs at 481-7700.